Track 02 · The Album
First In Line
"She didn't know what I was doin'. But I was first in line for you."
Lyrics
Verse 1
She was workin' the coffee shop
I was in there constantly
My buddies takin' bets on
Who I was tryin' to see
She'd say "I'll buy y'all a drink
If somebody mops the floor"
And boys, I'd grab that handle
'Fore she finished sayin' anymore
Chorus
I was first in line for the broom
First in line for the mop
First to swing by twice a day
First in line to never stop
First to drive past her gate
First to pick a wildflower too
She didn't know what I was doin'
But I was first in line for you
Verse 2
There was a Jeep one summer night
Buddies and me rollin' through
I leaned out and yelled "I love you"
On her county road I knew
Her daddy heard me from the porch
Called her up the next day
Took me a year and a half to own up
That the voice she heard was mine
Chorus
I was first in line for the broom
First in line for the mop
First to swing by twice a day
First in line to never stop
First to drive past her gate
First to pick a wildflower too
She didn't know what I was doin'
But I was first in line for you
Bridge
She was tradin' drinks for a mop
Sayin' "boys, you take the floor"
She had no idea those little favors
Were what I was comin' in for
She was servin' me in her way
I was servin' her in mine
Two people takin' care of each other
Just callin' it bein' kind
Final Chorus
I was first in line for the broom
First in line for the mop
First to swing by twice a day
First in line to never stop
First to drive past her gate
First to pick a wildflower too
She didn't know it then
But I was first in line for you
Yeah I was first in line for you
Outro
First in line for the broom
First in line for the mop
First in line two or three times a day
Yeah, I never stopped
I never stopped
The Story Behind the Song
Service before either of them called it anything.
Kayle and his buddies were coming into the coffee shop where Mallory worked two or three times a day. The couches in the corner were a hangout spot. Sometimes they would stay until closing. When Mallory offered free drinks in exchange for mopping the floor, Kayle was always on his feet before the sentence finished.
One summer night, riding around in a friend's blue Jeep, he leaned out the window on her county road and yelled "I love you" toward her family's house. Her dad heard it from the porch. It would be more than a year before Kayle finally admitted the voice was his.
He also picked her wildflowers on a mountain trip and gave them to her in town, stuck in a water bottle. He didn't think much of it. She kept thinking about it. Six months before they ever went on a real date, he was already taking little risks she hadn't started counting yet.
"First In Line" is the coffee shop courtship song. Two people serving each other and calling it bein' kind. He had been quietly making deposits in a bank account she didn't yet know existed.